Pump bearing and seal assembly lubrication



s ay w, 1949. J. M. ROTH Erm. i 2,469,846

PUMP BEARING AND SEAL ASSEMBLY LUBRICATION Filed June 25, 1945 .7TH/Erz faz-q E e/A K M @o7-H M//LL mn C. Mm. se

Patented May 1o, i1949 PUMP BEARING AND SEAL ASSEMBLY LUBRICATION Jay M. Roth, Euclid, and William C. Mahler,

Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to Thompson Products, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application June 25, 1945, Serial No. 601,480

2 Claims.

. 1 This invention relates to shaft bearings and seals for pumps and the like wherein iiud pressured by the pump is utilized to lubricate the bearing and seal.

Specically, the invention relates to a bearing and seal arrangement for automobile water pumps or the like wherein some of the water pressured by the pump is ltered and circulated to the bearing and seal for lubricating the same.

In accordance with this invention an automobile water pump of the centrifugal impeller type has a housing dening a pumping chamber or volute 'and carrying a shaft bearing sleeve which rotatably journals the impeller shaft. Leakage along the shaft is prevented by a seal which is resiliently urged into sealing engagement with an end face of the housing The bearingsleeve and seal are preferably composed of material which has a low coeicient of friction when water-lubricated. Synthetic plastic materials such as laminated phenolic condensation i of the pump. For this purpose, the housing carries a lter plug or strainer composed of powdered metal such as brass or iron having a relatively high degree of porosity. This plug strains water from the high side of the pump into a duct communicating with a groove in the bearing sleeve. The strained water circulates along this groove back to the low pressure side of the pump and, of course, lubricates the bearing surface of the sleeve. Some of the water also circulates to the sealing face of the seal member tolubricate this face.

It is, then, an object of this invention to provide a lubricated bearing and seal assembly especially adapted for automobile water pumps wherein water from the high side of the pump is circulated along the bearing and sealing faces to lubricate these faces and is then returned to the low side'A of the pump without leaking out of the pump.

A further object of the invention is to provide a lubricated pump shaft bearing wherein material pressured by the pump is circulated along the bearing back to the low side of the pump and is eliective to lubricate the bearing.

(Cl. 10S-111) A still further object of the invention is to provide a pump for automotive engine cooling systems with a strainer, in communication with the high side of the pump, filtering pressured liquid to the pump shaft bearing. v

A still further object of the invention is toprovide an automobile pump with a porous plugand a bleeder duct receiving strained pressured fluid from the plug to convey thisiiuid to the pump shaft of the pump for lubricating the shaft bearing.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following -detailed description of the annexed sheet of drawings which, by way oa preferred example only, illustrates one embodiment of the invention.

On the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational Vv iew of a pump according to this invention with parts broken away and shown in vertical cross section.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken along line II-lI of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view taken alongthe line IJI--III of Figure.

As shown on the ldrawings:

In Figures 1 and 2 the reference numeral I0 designates generallya pump according to this i invention having a housing II 'dening a pumping chamber or volute I2. The volutel I2 .has an open inner face closed-by aplate.A I t sealed to the end face of the housing by a gasket I4. An aperture I3a is provided in the plate to provide an outlet for the high pressure side of the volute I2 and, as is customary in automobile water pumps, the plate I3 is seated on a receiving face of the automobile engine with the outlet hole IBa thereof in communication with the Water chamber of the engine. In some installations. the plate. I3 can be removed and the housing I I can be directly secured to the engine and sealed against a face of the engine.

The housing II has an inlet I5 defining a central inlet chamber I6 communicating at Il with the central portion of the chamber I2.

A hub I8 is provided on the housing I I. This h'ub I8 projects through the inlet chamber I6 into the volute chamber I2 and also projects outwardly from the housing as shown in Figure 2.

The hub I8 has an inner end face I8a in the central portion of the chamber I2 and an outer end face IBb.

A bearing I9 in the form of an open-ended sleeve is snugly fitted in the hub I8. This bearing I9 is preferably composed of material which has a low coeilicient of friction when moistened with water. Synthetic condensation products such .as phenolic resins, or graphite-impregnated bronzes and the like are satisfactory materials for the bearing sleeve.

A groove |9a, preferably of appreciable width, is formed on the inner face of the bearing sleeve I9 and extends from an end face |9b adjacent the outer end of the sleeve to a groove I9c in the inner end face of the sleeve. This groove |9c registers with a groove |8c in the end face |8a of the hub I8. An aperture |9d is formed through the sleeve I9 near the end wall I9b of the groove and, as shown in Figure l, at the side of the groove opposite the side communicating with the groove |9c.

The pump housing has an integral leg connecting the hub I8 with the main housing portion I on the high pressure side of the pump. A duct 2| is formed through this leg 26 in registration with the aperture |911 of the bearing sleeve I9, this aperture being located at a point remote from the pump chamber I2. The other end ofV the duct 2| communicates with the interior of a hollow boss 22 on the housing. This hollow boss is open ended with a reduced-diameter end in communication with the pumping chamber I2 and providing a shoulder 23 and with a threaded outer end receiving a closure plug 24.

A strainer plug 25 of porousl powdered metal or the like material has a main cylindrical body portion 25a snugly fitting in the boss 22 and bottomed on the shoulder 23 together with a reduceddiameter portion 25h projecting into the pumping chamber I2 and providing a vertical end face 25e in the pumping chamber. It should be noted that the pump is so mounted on an automobile engine or the like that the face 25e will be disposed in a substantially Vertical plane to permit yltered solids to be readily washed 01T of the face by the liquid being pumped out of the outlet |3a thereby maintaining a clean filter face. The end of the plug opposite the end face 25e has an integral lug 25d thereon at the central portion thereof so that the plug can be readily inserted and retracted from the boss 22 by a tool engaging the lug. The plug 25 preferably does not cover Y ,This seal assembly 28 includes a seal ring 29 composed of suitable plastic or metal material with a raised inner end face 29a riding on the end face |8b of the hub I8. .The seal ring 29 loosely embraces the shaft 26.

A head member 30 is pressed on the shaft 26 in spaced relation from the seal ring 29 and carries a cage or cover 3| with an end ange 3 Ia that has recesses `3|!) on diametrically opposed sides thereof as best shown in Figure 3.

The seal ring 29 has ears or lugs 29h adapted to fit through the apertures 3|b behind the flange 3|a so that, when these ears and apertures are misaligned as shown in Figure 3, the flange will be effective to retain the seal ring within the cage. A deformable rubber ring 32 is compressed between the head 30 and seal ring 29 within the 4 cage 3| to seal against leakage between the seal ring and shaft. A spring 33 bottomed on the cage 3| acts on the seal ring 29 to urge its end face 29a 'into sealing engagement with the end face I8b of the huby I8.

As shown i'n Figure 3, a. tang 3|c is turned in from the ange 3 Ia to act as a stop for one of the ears 29h when it is rotated 90 from the apertures 3|b. This tang serves to drive theseal ring with the cage 3| and engages the ear 29h so as to have a driving thrust thereon. The entire seal assembly 28 can be assembled as a unit with the seal ring 29, the rubber ring 32, and the spring 33 in the cage 3|, and this assembly is then pressed on the shaft 26 to a position where the sealing face 29a of the seal ring will engage the end face |8b of the hub and the ears 29h of the seal ring will be moved into spaced relation from the flange 3 Ia so that the spring 33 will be effective to maintain sealing contact of the seal ring with the hub.

Water or other fluid to be pumped enters the pump through the inlet I5 and circulates from the inlet chamber I6 to the central portion of the pumping chamber I2 through the opening Il. The uid is then centrifugally whirled by the blades of the impeller and discharged out of the outlet |36.. Some of the pressured fluid is illtered through the strainer plug 25 into the duct 2| to Vflow along a groove I9a of the bearing sleeve I9 and back, to the low pressure or inlet side of the pump through the grooves |9c and |8c. This fluid lubricates the inner face of the bearing sleeve I9 and the end -face of the bearing sleeve on which the impeller hub 21a rides. addition some fluid can flow past the end |9b of the groove I9a to lubricate the sealing face 29a of the seal ring 29. Leakage along the pump shaft is/prevented by the sealing engagement of the sealing face 29a of the seal ring 29 and the end face |8b of the hub. Leakage through the sealing ring along the shaft is stopped by the rubber ring 32 and the press-fit engagement of the head member 30 on the shaft.

A pulley 34 is secured on the outer end of the shaft 26. This pulley is adapted to be driven by the fan belt of the automotive engine. Driving of the shaft 26 by the pulley 34, of course, drives the seal assembly 29 and the cage 3| of this assembly drives the seal ring 29 to rotate on the end face I8b of the hub.

From the above descriptions it will therefore be clear that this invention provides a pump assembly with a self-lubricating bearing and seal.

It will, of course. be understood that various details of construction may be varied through a wide range Without departing from the principles of this invention and it is, therefore, not the purpose to limit the patent granted hereon otherwise than necessitated by the scope of the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. A lubricated bearing assembly for pumps which comprises a pump housing having a pumping chamber with a peripheral outlet and a central inlet, a central hub portion projecting into said pumping chamber, a bearing sleeve in said hub portion, a pump shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing sleeve, a leg on said housing ex tending from the peripheral portion of said pumping chamber to the outer end of said hub, a hollow boss on said housing communicating with the pumping chamber, a filter plug in said hollow boss having a substantially vertical end face in said pumping chamber, said vertical end face being positioned for cleansing action by the flow o'f iiuid in the pumping chamber, and said leg which comprises a pump housing having a pumping chamber with a peripheral outlet and -a central inlet, said housing having a central hub with an inner end projecting into said pumping chamber and an outer end face remote from said inner end, a seal ring having a sealing face riding against the outer end `faceof said hub, a bearing sleeve in said hub having a longitudinal duct 'passing through the end thereof adjacent the inner end ofthe hub, a pump shaft rotatably mounted in said bearing sleeve, a passaged leg on said housing extending from the peripheral portion of said pumping chamber to the outer end of said hub and having the passage thereof communicating with said longitudinal duct in the bearing sleeve, a hollow boss on said housing communicating with said pumping-chamber and pass age in said leg, a lter plug removably mounted in said hollow boss and having a substantially vertical end face in said pumping chamber, said vertical end face being positioned for cleansing action by flow of uid in said pumping chamber,

aremovable closure member for said hollow boss 3o 6 giving access to said lter plug, said longitudinal duct being in communication at its inner end with the centralportion of said pumping chamber and at its outer end with the sealing face of said seal ring whereby iiuid from the peripheral portion ofthe pumping chamber will be ltered through said plug to ilow through the passage in said leg and through the longitudinal duct in said bearing sleeve to lubricate the pump shaft and seal ring and 'whereby circulation of said uid is insured by communication of the longitudinal duct with the central portion of the pump- The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 350,362 Hawley Oct. 5, 1886 1,722,179 Evens July 23, 1929 1,733,416 Lebesnerrois Oct. 29, 1929 1,752,006 Kalb Mar. 25, 1930 1,931,724 Fageal et al. Oct. 24, 1933 2,027,505 Winkler Jan. 14, 1936 2,257,349 Sherwood Sept. 30, 1941l 

